Senior Officials Discuss Avian Flu Priorities for Central Asia
Government representatives from Central Asia and neighboring countries, as well as experts from development agencies, attended the Regional Conference on Avian Influenza Control and Human Influenza Pandemic Preparedness and Response held in Almaty from June 12-13, 2006. The conference was co-sponsored by USAID and its implementing partner, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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The region’s health workers are benefiting from USAID’s programs that are trengthening their capacity to respond to avian influenza
Photo Credit: CDC |
Officials from human and animal health, preparedness, and contingency planning sectors reviewed sector-specific strategies for preparedness planning and discussed multi-sectoral and regional coordination to strengthen their capability to respond to avian and human influenza. Findings from a May 2006 UNDP Global Data Gathering Exercise that assessed planning and preparedness for the disease at national, regional, and global levels were also presented.
Most countries in the region have been stepping up their campaigns to contain the spread of the avian influenza virus. However, capacity in Central Asia to detect early outbreaks of the disease remains limited, a concern because the region is at the crossing point of several major flyways of migratory birds that can easily carry the virus from one region to another. USAID, through its implementing partner CDC, supports the Central Asian countries by introducing the integrated infectious diseases surveillance systems and strengthening laboratory capacities to diagnose avian influenza.
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